5 tips for polaroid beginners

I hope you have noticed our love of all things Polaroid here at the Mortal Muses. I was given my first Polaroid camera in the summer of 2011. But figuring out how to get the best from old Polaroid cameras (which have been gathering dust in attics for years) and new kinds of film (made by Impossible Project) is far from easy. After several false starts and much heartache, I feel I’m on track, with more than a little help from my friends Christy, Debra, Lindsey and Meghan. So this is the blog post I wish I could have read when I started out. It’s like a message to my former self, and I hope you will find it helpful if you are thinking of giving Polaroids a try. Here are the five tips I wish I had known at the start of my adventure with Polaroids!

1. There are three main sorts of Polaroid camera.
And they all use different kinds of film! There are Polaroid type 600 series, the Polaroid type SX-70 and the Image/Spectra cameras. The folding SX-70 type is a design classic—its elegant design inspired Steve Jobs—which means the cameras are now cult collectibles. The chunkier 600 series cameras are easier to get hold of and are a good place to start your Polaroid adventure. I have a 660 with autofocus. Yes, it may take up a fair amount of room in my bag, but it’s light and I get good results the majority of the time (see above). I have had a series of disasters while trying to buy a more elegant SX-70, and if you want to buy one I suggest you get one from a dealer who has serviced and checked it properly. This costs more than buying a camera on eBay, but you can be sure than it will work. I bought an SX-70 from a seller in the US, which meant paying extra postage and customs duty, but it was unreliable and I’m now having it serviced by a dealer in London. Given the high cost of film (around $4 US a shot) you really don’t want to be wasting it in a camera that’s not working properly. To further complicate things, each of these three types of camera uses a different kind of film, so check that you have the right sort of film for your camera before you hit the buy button. You need PX-680 film to go with a 600 series camera, PX-70 with an SX-70 and PZ-600 film for a Spectra camera. Just to confuse matters, you can also use PX-680 in an SX-70 camera, but only if it has been fitted with a neutral-density filter. So if you are starting out, go for a 600-series camera that has been properly tested and buy PX-680 film. And remember that you can get the equivalent black-and-white films for each of the cameras too!

2. Store the film in the fridge. Once you have bought your camera and film, remember that the film should be stored in the fridge before you use it. Impossible Project recommend letting it warm up for an hour before putting it in your camera.

3. Shield your film. Unlike original Polaroid film, the Impossible Project film needs to be kept in the dark for a few minutes after exposure. (Impossible Project have recently released their new colour-protection film which is not as fussy about being shielded as soon as it comes out of the camera—but it doesn’t hurt to be careful anyway.) After messing around with cardboard boxes and envelopes I eventually bought a frog tongue for my 660 (which clips into place and cleverly unrolls to shield images as they emerge from the camera) and the dark slide for my SX-70 (a fixed flap which does the same thing). After a few minutes I take a peek at the image, and after 10 minutes or so I transfer it to a box or an envelope where it can continue to develop in the dark. Failing that, put it in an inside pocket, or face down on a table. After about 30 minutes the image will have finished developing. And remember the film tends to work better between 15-25 degrees Celsius (55-77 degrees Fahrenheit) so in the winter months the colder film will tend to underdevelop. Impossible sells a cold clip but the easiest solution is to use your body heat to warm up the freshly ejected image after exposure by tucking it into your armpit for a bit.

4. Think about your exposure. If you have an SX-70 you will need to reduce the exposure time by dialling darker on the exposure wheel, otherwise the image will be overexposed. You don’t need to do this with the 600-series cameras, but you may need to experiment with the exposure to get the best results: move the slider towards the dark arrow if you want your image darker and towards the light arrow if you want your image to be lighter. (This means that in bright light you move the image towards the dark arrow, and in the dark you move it towards the light arrow, which can be confusing.) I’m still learning how to manage the exposures of my images as I get to know my camera better, so keep experimenting with yours until you get a feel for it. Also, I find that Polaroid images are better if they are lit from the front (sun behind you). Backlighting is not your friend when it comes to Polaroids.

5. Storing your Polaroids. You get just eight shots per pack of film. Some of your first pack will be total triumphs and some will not. Remember to store the exposed images away from light. I store mine in a shoebox, with ribbon around each set of images. When we go on holiday I like to lay them out to make a gradually expanding collage, which I then shoot with a digital camera. If you have a scanner you’ll want to scan your favourite Polaroids, both to share online in the short term and to preserve them for the long term.

If you’re thinking of giving Polaroids a try, I hope this post will help and inspire you, and that you will soon be as addicted as we are! In an age of digital perfection, there’s something peculiarly satisfying about getting a really great exposure from a mechanical, chemical system. You can see how much fun I had with my Polaroids in Crete, just this past week. (These were shot with my 660, with a mixture of original and colour-protection PX-680 film.)

118 Comments

Can you use different types of film in your camera? I have a sun 600 lms but the film i looked up is 30 dollars for 10 pictures and was wondering if there is a better deal to get more film for less or not?

Follow this guy if you want to spend boat loads of money. I bought a Polaroid land camera 100 for 10$ at an estate sale. Cleaned it up. 10$ for battery. 10$ for a pack of 10 shots. Boom. Fully functional pull and peel polaroid.

what happens if you leave the film in the camera? we loaded the camera just to see if it worked and it does… YAY! But, we want to save the film for our wedding however it is 54 days away… will it go bad? Should we use it now?

You would have to replace the card that was originally ejected when you inserted it into the camera (it can be done but is a little fiddly). And then you can eject the whole pack and store it in the fridge.

Hi Kirsten, great article! Can I ask though, I bought a camera from eBay that’s working and still has two pieces of film left inside it, should I remove it and put the film in the fridge? I don’t have anything special to photograph just yet and film is so expensive.

Great article! How necessary is it that I store my film in the fridge? Mine came in the mail a few weeks and I’m just finding out about this. Should I keep a fresh pack in the fridge and my open pack in the camera?

Hi, I just received my polaroid film. I have two exposures left in the camera. I would like to know if I could switch my current ful out and put some new film in, so that I can save my other two exposures.

I left my film in the heat by mistake and consequently the polaroids don’t develop completely… I still have an unopened film which was also left in the heat… does putting it in the fridge now, work or is it already completely ruined?

Hi kristen! I have been struggling with this question for a couple of weeks now and cant get a straight answer, so if film expires can you still use it or is that not wise to buy film that expired a long time ago???

i dont know how long the batter pack in the film lasts, it may be dead tho the film is still fine. just bought a batch from 1999 so ill see how it goes if not ill transfur into a working battery ( i keep my impossible film packs after use for the battery they have)

Great article Kirstin! I just got a Polaroid 640, 600 series camera. My friends and I tried taking a picture in the dark but we had our slider set all the way to the dark arrow so I’m assuming that’s why it came out all black.

I just bought a polaroid SX-70 camera but I don’t know what kind of film to get for it. It is for my grandson and he wants color but I noticed it comes silver, gold and black. What does that mean and which one should I buy for him. thank you for you time. Estelle

I have a Polaroid 600 Sun and I took pictures outside with no flash and I also lowered the light exposure yet the pictures still came out extremely over exposed so that you can barely see the objects. I tried again and again before giving up on outside shots. I then took a picture inside to see if it changed anything and it didn’t. So is there something wrong with my camera?
Thanks!

HI, was the colour wheel fully on dark? In the sun you should change it all the way to dark since its brighter out and when its darker outside change it all the way to white. Also, when the picture comes out you probably left in in direct sunlight since it was the beach, please dont do this it is necessary that the photo goes in a bag or complete darkness at least for 20 minutes

Hello, I’m going on holiday and I’m thinking of buying a polariod 640 land instant, I’ll be taking pictures outside and I won’t be able to get to a dark place quickly. Would it be possible to take the picture and imidiatly put it in a tin and keep it in my bag or would that not work? If you could give me any advice that would be great thanks 🙂

enay has varying items such as expired genuine film, just be aware you may get film with a dead battery pack but if you have a working battery eg from a used pack of film you can transfur the new film into it and use that. google how to.

it may have been exposed to light while developing or it may be faulty film or the camera. my first attempt yeilded similar results and it was the expired impossible film. flipping the camera over to shield the pic as it ejects and developing immediatly inside a book in a dark room worked

if you live in a cold climate theres no need to store film in fridge. ive found when using my 600 camera, as soon as the pic is taken i flip the whole camera upside down (which shields the image) if im using impossible film, even with a frogtounge i get better results. expired impossible film will probably be unreliable.
lots of expired genuine polaroid film on ebay but beware the batteries in the film pack may be flat- there is a relativley easy way to transfur the unused film into an empty film pack with working battery: remember to save your impossible film batteries when youve used all your shots! ( they last a while) also, clean the camera rollers. the quality of the camera (eg refurbished or bought off ebay) makes a difference too. i get my best result with a 600 camera bought from ebay.

I got gave a 600 Polaroid from my husbands Mema with the 600 film but when I took two pictures of my kids the pictures turned out orangish and the whole top is like a gray blob.. I wish I could take a picture to explain but maybe y’all got some answers??

I NEED HELP! I got my one600 for a little ago and already bought new films this month. They still gets blue effects when I takes pictures. What is the reason for it? Any ideas? Is it my one600 dirty? I need help, I really want to shoot pictures of the camera.

I recently bought the impossible project black and white film for my polaroid 600 but all of my pictures come out white and in some places they become darker or maybe just a hint of black around the edges. What can i do so my picture actually develops?

Hi, Sound like your film is over exposed. It’s best to shoot with the sun behind you and reduce exposure.

Depending on what your subject is, whether it’s light or dark, close up or further away, Bright Sun or Cloudy etc will make an enormous difference to what your exposure should be set to.

If your flash is on, either try switching it off or just cover it up or partially cover it with something to diffuse the light. It’s all about experimentation.

If there is a lot of sky in your photo, it’ll most likely be blown (white) ie overexposed. Your only options then are to reduce the amount of sky, reduce exposure ( other elements in the photo will become darker perhaps totally black and/or experiment with your flash as i said earlier.

It might be a good idea too if you found yourself an actual manual 35mm film SLR or manual rangefinder camera to learn and experiment with exposure for a lot less money. You’ll get 24/36 photos instead of 8 and you can still get your film developed easily in eg Boots chemist etc in UK or similar I guess elsewhere.

Understanding exposure and mastering light manipulation is the key to creating better photographs.

Hi, I am trying to find information on a Polaroid hotbox I have recently acquired along with a passport camera. Searched Google and can’t find a thing!
Light tight box with 2 bars across (presumably for laying the photos across) with heater at base, approx A4 in size, any info welcome.

many people have questioned their film coming out a different colour than they’d like….if the film is expired it will generally change your picture a bit whether thats the colour or adding a haze, etc. (the box the film comes in will have a month and year that it expires)
some can turn out really cool looking, therefore i recommend not throwing it away, either use the film and see what you get or try selling the package as many people, like myself, buy expired film from different stores.

So Im looking into buying a polaroid but the only one that I can find in my price rang is a polaroid one600. But everywhere I go they say the flim is for the 600. Is there a difference in which film I would use or is it the same?

Hi, It’s been a wee while since you asked the question, but i’ll answer it anyway. All cameras starting with 6 take 600 film. It has the most different looking films so the 600 series is a good place to start with instant film ie single and multi-coloured borders and circular photos too. SX-70 and Spectra/Image in particular don’t have so many options.

I see some undeveloped spots on some of your pictures ? Why that happens?
I have purchase the I-1 camera that made by impossible and almost all of my picture has that mark on top corner! Can someone please help me with this

If it’s visible on all photos There’s maybe a light leak. If that’s the problem it’s internal and I’d contact the shop I bought it from and request a replacement camera.. If it’s still within it’s Guarantee period.

Hi, Thank you for the suggestions. I got given a Polaroid camera for my birthday – we loaded the film, took a photo (which was all great) then had to run out… I came back to it a couple of days ago and now wont even turn on any more :/ I tried taking out the paper and putting it back in but that doesn’t work. Do you know why this is happening and how I can fix it? 🙁

Did you use brand new Impossible Film or old Polaroid stuff? With the old Polaroid film, the battery tends to be drained due to age.

There might be a problem with the camera.

If it doesn’t turn on with a new film cartridge inserted, then I think it must be the camera. I’d return it to the shop for exchange or repair.

P.s. You wrote that you “..tried taking out the paper and putting it back in but that doesn’t work..”. If you exposed the film (paper) to light, it’s ruined. the film cartridge with film in it must be in complete darkness when the card black slide has been removed. However, that won’t stop the camera from turning on, it just means the “paper” won’t produce photos anymore.

..you can swap film over. However, it must be removed in complete darkness and the Dark Slide (the piece of card that popped out first) must be put back in before turning to light on. It’s a bit of a hassle and it’s easy to scratch the film.

When Polaroid film is ejected from the camera it is squeezed through rollers. This process distributes a thin layer of developing chemical over the film. Sometimes, but rarely, some of the chemical can leak. When that happens, Polaroid advised giving the rollers a clean with a slightly damp cloth.. I prefer to use computer screen wipes. Hope that helps.

It could be that your photo is underexposed. Depending on which camera you have, they’ll either be a slide or a wheel to control the exposure (amount of light getting to the film). Also, On a cold day the picture will usually take longer to appear and when it does, it might not have developed properly, and come out dark and blue toned. Impossible advise putting the exposed picture close to your body to keep it warm while it develops. Hope that helps.

Hi, I have a few questions, I’m planning on buying film for my Polaroid Supercolor (which I haven’t used in ages) and I’ve been looking at some tutorials and whenever they go and use the camera there is a green light which is lit. Now my questions are:

1.) Is the green light supposed to be lit all the time even if you don’t have any film inserted.
2.) How do you turn the camera on.
3.) Can you turn on the camera and take a photo (without it being printed) while there is an empty film tray inserted, just for testing.

Hi,I check your blogs named “5 tips for polaroid beginners | Mortal Muses” like every week.Your writing style is witty, keep up the good work! And you can look our website about تحميل مهرجانات شعبى 2017.

Well Impossible Project has become Polaroid Originals after they took over Polaroid Co. But these basic rules never change. Still you need to keep these film packs in cold storage. But cool thing is film price has gone down a lot in last 5 years.

Hello. I see that you don’t update your website too often. I know that writing content is boring
and time consuming. But did you know that there is a tool that allows you to create
new articles using existing content (from article directories or other pages from
your niche)? And it does it very well. The new articles are high quality and pass the copyscape test.
You should try miftolo’s tools

My name is Noah Wilkinson. And I am a professional Content writer with many years of experience in writing.

My main focus is to solve problems related to writing. And I have been doing it for many years. I have been with several associations as a volunteer and have assisted in many ways.
My love for writing has no end. It is like the air we breathe, something I cherish with all my being. I am a passionate writer who started at an early age.
I’m happy that I`ve already sold several copies of my works in different countries like Canada and China and others too numerous to mention.
I also work in a company that provides assistance to many clients from different parts of the world. Students always come to me because I work no matter how complex their projects are. I help them to save time, because I feel happy when people come to me for writing help.

Welcome Everyone
Thanks for checking out my writing website . My name is Noah.
I have worked since high school in this niche. My interest in writing started at a young age. I wrote journaled as a child and eventually went on to work with my school newspaper.
This early tryst into news reporting eventually led me to academic writing. There is plenty of work for qualified writers. I specialize in essays, but have the skills to do all types of academic writing.
Reach out for more information about rates and a price quote. I’m looking forward to helping you.

Hello everyone , I’m Veronika Eaton.
Welcome to my website . I started writing in high school after a creative writing assignment for my English teacher. I did creative writing for almost a year before I thought about doing something else.
I had always loved doing research papers because I’m passionate about learning. When you combine writing skill with a love of learning, academic writing only makes sense as a job.
I’m passionate about assisting the students of the future in their school career. When they don’t like their assignment , I am there to help.

Hello everyone, it’s Kay Stamp here!
I work as a professional an essay writer and have created this content with the intent of changing your life for the better. I started honing my writing skills in college. I learned that my fellow students needed writing help—and they were willing to pay for it. The money was enough to help pay my tuition for my first semester of college.
Ever since high school, I have continued to work as an academic writer. I was hired by a writing service based in the United Kingdom. Since then, the research papers that I have written have been sold around Europe and the United States.
In my line of work, I have become familiar with hearing, “Kay Stamp, can you help me meet my writing assignment deadline?” I know that I can save their time.

Hello, I’m Greta Brock.
Welcome to my about page. I started writing in middle school after a creative writing assignment for my English teacher. I did creative writing for almost a year before I thought about doing something else.
I had always loved doing research assignments because I’m passionate about learning. When you combine writing skill with a love of learning, dissertation writing only makes sense as a job.
I’m passionate about aiding the students of the future in their school career. When they don’t like their assignment , I am there to help.